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Mississippi State football: 3 big overreactions from Bulldogs’ win vs. Arkansas

By Ethan Lee

FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS - OCTOBER 21: Mike Wright #14 of the Mississippi State Bulldogs throws a pass in the second half of the game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium on October 21, 2023 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The Bulldogs defeated the Razorbacks 7-3. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS - OCTOBER 21: Mike Wright #14 of the Mississippi State Bulldogs throws a pass in the second half of the game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium on October 21, 2023 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The Bulldogs defeated the Razorbacks 7-3. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /
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Zavion Thomas #1 of the Mississippi State Bulldogs catches a pass in the first half during the game against the Arkansas Razorbacks
FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS – OCTOBER 21: Zavion Thomas #1 of the Mississippi State Bulldogs catches a pass in the first half during the game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium on October 21, 2023 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /

Overreaction No. 2: The Bulldogs’ offense is certainly and irredeemably broken

Alright yes I just spent a significant amount of time in that last slide talking about the offense being a bit of a disaster. This unit has issues. There’s no doubt about that. But this was the first game the Mississippi State football team got to experience with Mike Wright at quarterback and it was clear that things were out of sorts in connection with that.

The offensive line didn’t seem to be on the same page on multiple occasions and the Bulldogs played sloppy football because of that. On top of that, Arkansas and the Razorbacks very talented front seven and pass rush was able to get after the Bulldogs offense and cause problems for Wright.

MSU’s starting quarterback was sacked on four different occasions, his passing ability seemed less than ideal, and there was no consistent identity from the Bulldogs on this side of the ball.

And now here is where I say to take a deep breath on it all.

With the weird circumstances that led to Wright taking over at quarterback as the full time starter in this game, it’s worth acknowledging that this is his first start in nearly a year. Now he has that out of the way.

It’s become more evident of what the Bulldogs have on offense now and how Barbay can focus on building something out of this mess. Even though there was a bye week before Arkansas, the offense didn’t feel cohesive. With some more practice and snaps and actual game film to break down, these guys have an opportunity to move forward and build something that might work.

Even if Rogers doesn’t return, if Barbay is actually given the ability to focus on his offense and has the freedom to be as aggressive as he seemed to want to be against Alabama and South Carolina, then maybe we see an offense that can be cohesive and dangerous in some upcoming games.

Or maybe we won’t.

Now, if the offense still has Wright next week and continues to be uninspiring for all the worst reasons, then it’s time to have that conversation about this side of the ball being broken (for one reason or another).

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